1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of electronic game apparatus and more particularly to that apparatus which is usable with circuitry for controlling the display of a game object on the screen of a cathode-ray tube.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, game playing devices adapted for attachment to standard television receivers to manually control, for games ranging from "ping-pong" to space wars, the display of a game object on the receiver tube screen have enjoyed noteworthy public acceptance and wide usage. In general, the prior art game apparatus utilized manually operated controls, such as dials, switches, or levers mounted for universal movement to obtain corresponding movements of a game object on the screen. Examples of such games may be found in the following publications: 73 MAGAZINE, #192, October 1976, "Hey, Look What My Daddy Built!" by Steve Ciarcia; POPULAR MECHANICS, vol. 148, No. 6, December 1977, "New TV Games: Livelier, Smarter" by Dave Sagarin; MODERN ELECTRONICS, Vol. 1, No. 2, March 1978, "Videogames Roundup: the Best and Most Fun" by Bob Margolin; MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED, Vol. 73, No. 588, "Those Amazing New TV Games" by Robert D. Freed.
In addition, devices are known in the art for utilizing body capacitance for non-tactile control of various devices including switches, varying a musical frequency, and intrusion sensing devices. Examples of these devices are found in the following publications: TRANSISTOR PROJECTS, Vol. 4, pp. 89-93, "Super-Simple FET Touch Switch" by Forrest M. Mims, III; HOW TO BUILD PROXIMITY DETECTORS & METAL LOCATORS, pp. 7-9, 87-97, 149-157, "Proximity Detectors and Metal Locators" by John Potter Shields; 49 EASY TRANSISTOR PROJECTS, pp. 6-9 by Robert M. Brown & Tom Kneiter; HANDBOOK OF TRANSISTOR CIRCUITS, pp. 88, 89, By Allan Lytel; MASTER HANDBOOK OF 1001 PRACTICAL ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS, pp. 18, 19, by K. W. Sessions; and MOSFET CIRCUITS GUIDEBOOK WITH 100 TESTED PROJECTS, pp. 98-101, by Rufus P. Turner.
However, the art, as determined from the aforereferenced publications, does not provide a device which can translate the movement of a human body member, such as a hand, to a corresponding movement of a game object or indicia on the screen of a cathode-ray tube, notwithstanding the versatility and increased game interest resulting from such capability.